It is the second year running that Oliver has topped the list. Amelia has been number one in England since 2011, while in Wales it has held the position since 2012.

Lily replaced Mia in the top 10 most popular girls’ names, climbing from No 12 to ninth.

The statistics were compiled from annual births registration data.

Oliver was chosen for 6,649 newborn boys, followed by Jack, Harry, Jacob, Charlie and Thomas.

The 100 most popular baby names in England and Wales in 2014 – the full list

Read more

Perhaps due to a certain royal prince, George was in seventh position, up three places on 2013, while Oscar dropped one place to eighth. James came in at nine while William dropped two places to No 10.

Some 5,327 newborn girls were named Amelia. Olivia remained second favourite. Isla was third, up two places from 2013, while Emily dropped from third place to fourth. Poppy increased in popularity, moving up two to fifth position and Ava also moved up two places to sixth. Isabella was seventh, up one place, while Jessica dropped two places to eighth. Lily moved into the top 10 in ninth position, while Sophie dropped one place to tenth.

There were three new entries in the top 100 for boys. Ellis came in at 94, Joey at 97 and Jackson at 100. These replaced Evan, Aiden and Cameron, which all fell out of the top 100.

Kian showed the largest rise, gaining 41 places to reach No 54. Teddy moved up 20 places to 66, Theodore rose 19 places to 59, Eiljah moved 16 places to 53. Freddie, up 15 places to 20, and Albert, up 15 places to 84 were also high climbers.

There were six new entries in the top 100 for girls names. Thea rose 42 places to No 79. Darcie came in at 80, Lottie at 84, Harper at 89, Nancy at 90 and Robyn at 100. All were new additions to the top 100 since 2013.

Meanwhile names falling out of the list included Niamh, Paige, Skye, Tilly, Isobel, Maddison or Madison.

Aisha showed the largest rise within the top 100 gaining 18 places to 75. Elsie and Heidi were both up 15 places to 32 and 84 respectively, Evelyn moved up 14 places to 31, and Eliza, Georgia, Ivy and Darcey were also high climbers, up 12 places each to 47, 48, 54 and 72 respectively.

Lexi, meanwhile fell 22 places down to 64, Megan was down 16 places to 65, and Hannah, Lacey and Julia were all down 15 places to 59, 68 and 97 respectively. Faith was down 14 places to 88.

The ONS data showed five of the top boys’ names were also in the top 10 a decade previously in 2004 – Oliver, Jack, Thomas, James and William. Four of the top girls’ names have also retained their top 10 slots over the decade – Olivia, Emily, Jessica and Sophie.

Over the past decade the biggest boy risers in the top 100 were Dexter, up 335 places to 73, Joey, up 281 places to 97, Teddy, up 229 places to 66, Ollie, up 181 places to 74 and Austin, up 164 places to 89.

Isla has shot up 165 places since 2004 to gain the No 3 slot, while Ava rose 147 places to No 6. But in the current top 100, Harper is the girl’s name that has gained most popularity over the decade, shooting up 3,636 places to No 89. Lexi rose 724 places to 64 while Ivy climbed 704 to 54. Violet, Bella and Elsie were also high climbers since 2004.

There was a huge diversity in baby names in 2014 – with 695,233 live births in England and Wales, more than 35,000 different girls’ names were registered and more than 27,000 different boys’ names. The top 10 names account for just 12% of all names in 2014.

The popularity of names can of course be influenced by famous figures or celebrities, but also by the religious, cultural and/or ethnic identities of parents.

It can also be influenced by seasons, it seems. Holly was the fifth most popular name for girls registered in December, though it fell to No 70 in June. Summer reached No 25 in June, but fell to 105 in December.

The popularity of Harper could owe much to Victoria and David Beckham choosing that for their daughter. The list showed a nod to celebrity names, said Sasha Miller, international marketing editor at website Babycentre, “with Ava coming in sixth, the name of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe’s daughter, and Poppy coming in fifth, which is the name of Jamie Oliver’s daughter.

“The list chimed with the website’s community favourites, she added. “When it comes to boys names, the royal effect is taking effect. George is in the top 10, as are George’s dad and uncle, William and Harry. All leading the country both in lineage and name. With another royal baby born this year, it will be interesting if Charlotte trends in 2015”.

With girls names parents tended to be more experimental, she said, and names ending in ‘a’ have been very popular over several years “due to their more continental sound.

“Further down the list we are seeing a significant trend of parents registering a shortened form of a name, rather than registering the full name,” she added, citing Teddy, Freddie, and Joey as examples.”

Regional differences saw Noah, Alfie, Leo, Logan and Dylan all make the Welsh top 10 for boys, but not the English one. Mia, Evie and Ruby were among the 10 most popular girls’ names in Wales, but not in England.

Muhammed was the most popular boys’ name in London while Jack topped the table in the north-east, but Oliver was most popular throughout the rest of England and Wales.

Amelia was firm favourite throughout, apart from in the south-east where it was pipped by Olivia.